The good, the bad of Titans offense

Rookie receiver Kenny Britt is becoming a favorite target of Kerry Collins, especially on third down.

Britt leads the Titans with 17 catches for 271 yards. Six of those catches were on third down, totaling 56 yards. By comparison, Colts tight end Dallas Clark ranks fourth in the NFL with 10 catches on third down for 102 yards.

The Titans converted 8 of 16 third downs during Sunday’s loss at Jacksonville.

Last season, nearly half (28) of tight end Bo Scaife’s 58 catches resulted in first downs. Also, 10 were on third or fourth down. Scaife missed the last two games with a knee injury before returning Sunday to catch three passes for 25 yards.

On the bad side of the offense, the Titans rank near the bottom of the league in fourth-quarter passing. This has been important since the Titans have trailed late in every game this season en route to a 0-4 record.

Quarterback Kerry Collins has a 45.5 percent passer rating during the final quarter – 16th in the AFC. The only quarterbacks with a lower rating are Chad Henne (Dolphins), rookie Mark Sanchez (Jets) and Derek Anderson (Browns), and two of those three have started just one game in 2009.

While Collins has just one interception in the fourth quarters, he has completed less than half of his pass attempts (18 of 41 for 167 yards, no touchdowns). His receivers, including Britt, have dropped several balls late in recent games.

Peyton Manning, whom the Titans will face Sunday night, ranks second only to Denver’s Kyle Orton in fourth-quarter ratings (117.9). During that span, Manning has thrown for 263 yards and one score with no interceptions. He has also completed 73 percent of his passes.